A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a milling gauge for cutting dovetail grooves especially directed to the joining of rectangular boards or sheets which are to be joined by a dovetail gauge of the invention.
B. Description of the Prior Art
In the production of wooden furniture, desk or bureau drawers, wooden boxes and similar articles, it is generally customary to assemble two boards abutting with their ends against each other at a right angle by a so-called wedge joint. For this purpose, several dovetail grooves are milled into the ends of each board, whereby the wedges developed between two adjacent dovetail grooves must provide a cross-sectional shape which is congruent with the dovetail grooves.
In the case of one of these boards namely the so-called cross bar, the dovetail grooves must be oriented perpendicularly in relation to the plane of the board, while in the case of the other board namely the longitudinal board, the run as parallel to its main surfaces. Further, the grooves and wedges in the case of one of the boards must be displaced in a completely exact manner by always one half of the middle groove distance in relation to the grooves and wedges of the other board, so that the wedges of one board will fit into the proper grooves of the other board. Beyond this second requirement, the grooves must be distributed over the width of the board in such a way that the half or residual wedges are of a sufficient width and stability where they are left at the longitudinal edges of the board.
Although instructions are available and special and costly machines are available to the manufacturers of furniture and wooden boxes, there has been very little choice of special gauges for the amateur carpenter or cabinetmaker.
For do-it-yourself and home carpenters who generally have only one electric hand drill or drilling cutter available, it is exceedingly difficult and time consuming to accomplish the necessary calcualtions and measurements whereby it also causes the do-it-yourselfer the greatest of difficulties to cut out the grooves with the required precision of their position.